Balewski v. Carnegie Steel Co.
Balewski v. Carnegie Steel Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This is an appeal from the refusal of the court below to take off a judgment of compulsory nonsuit. The defendant company was charged with negligence in the method of operating a Bessemer converter, used in the process of making steel at its works. From the testimony it appears that at a certain stage in the process it was customary to pour water into the converter. As the trial judge says in his opinion, “such had been the practice at these works for at least a year, and perhaps four years prior to the explosion; and it does not appear that any explosion had ever occurred before. It does not appear that the use of water with which to cool the converter was, of itself, dangerous, but on the contrary it was considered entirely safe provided the water was blown out or reduced to steam before raising the vessel
We think the action of the court below was justified by the evidence, and its refusal to take off the judgment of compulsory nonsuit is affirmed.
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- Negligence — Master and servant — Fellow servants — Explosion— Nonsuit. 1. An employer cannot be expected to stand by during the progress of the work to guard against danger from the failure of some workman to do his part. 2. In an action against a steel manufacturing company to recover damages for personal injuries caused by the explosion of a converter used in the making of steel, it appeared that at a certain stage in the process it was customary to pour water into the converter and that no explosion had ever occurred before; that it was considered entirely safe so to do, provided the water was blown out or reduced to steam before raising the vessel to a perpendicular position. All the facilities for doing the work in the customary way were provided and except as it might be inferred from the fact that the explosion occurred there was nothing to show that water remained in the converter when it was raised to a vertical position. Held, that a compulsory nonsuit was proper.